Sunday catch up!

 I have had such a busy but lovely week. I have been totally in the mood for cooking this week, I’m going to do a post sometime in the week with all my lovely dinners, and I’ve been very good at getting my veg in!

I recently got a volunteer position at a hospital and this week I had my first day. I was really nervous because I haven't had training; I was really thrown in at the deep end. I've been brought in as a psychology student to provide the nurses with some guidance on how to deal with certain patients that display psychological difficulties. I'm really nervous about next week, I think more nervous than this week but hopefully within time that will go!

On Friday I had 2 bits of very good news. The first was my current job have got a new contract meaning more work, it’s been a bit unreliable since about September but this means more hours for me which is such a relief. Then a few hours later I got a call offering me a job as a social worker, I was so pleased I’ve been jumping around on top of the world ever since! I'm working with older people and i recommend anyone watch this Louis Theroux programme about living with dementia!

Etsy shop of the week: WWVintage

$29/ £18.46

 

I love this little vintage Etsy shop. WWVintage has a range of cute vintage items from all over the world. They have a collection that includes gorgeous glass bottles, retro telephones, old cameras, even army equipment! They ship everywhere as well, bonus!

$25/ £15.92

$39/ £24.83

Ace of Cakes

 So last week the boy was away for university and I ended up in a really bad sleeping pattern and inevitably started watching some really bad reality TV in the middle of the night. One not so bad program was Ace of Cakes. The series ended last year so I’m not really promoting the show but I just wanted to alert people to these levels of awesomeness. The show follows Charm City Cakes, a business based in Maryland, US. Duff Goldman and his team do make absolutely incredible cakes and the best thing is, that will the show may be over the business is still running! Their cakes are completely custom made and start at $7 a serving. They have about 50 flavours of cake they offer with examples including rum, peaches and cream, egg nog or my favourite smores!

The episode i watched included this amazing crossword cake, the clues are around the cake, the guests were asked to fill it out and the winner got a prize!

They even made a cake for the Harry Potter cast

I just love this one!

They can do pretty too!

The bridesmaid files: Beth

 It was the first day of university and our lecturers had chosen an icebreaking activity, people bingo. The idea is you have a list of traits and you have to find people that match the traits on your paper. One of the traits was ‘someone wearing red’ and it turned out only one girl in the classroom was dressed in red meaning a queue of people were forming to get her to sign their sheet. I was instantly struck by just how pretty this girl was and we soon got to introduce ourselves. 

 Quite quickly we both became part of a friendship group at university however it was Beth and I that connected the most. We shared the same taste in clothes, music, and food and had the same silly sense of humour, in a group picture we would be the ones looking like morons. 

We can break out in song and dance anywhere!

 We soon developed our perfect recipe for a night out- getting ready together while poring over the latest gossip mags, heading out to a bar for cocktails and then to our fave indie club where we would dance like idiots for hours on end before heading to our fave take away shop for something, preferably drowning in garlic mayo. I have never had so much fun as I do with Beth. 

My fave memory of this night- watching a leopard operate a petrol pump

No one can say we don't make the effort!

 

One of the reasons our friendship is so strong is that it hasn’t been all rosy, we’ve gone through the hardest times of our lives with each other and our relationship has been strained but we’ve fought for the friendship and it’s stronger than ever. I love being in a relationship with the boy because it’s so wonderful being with someone who knows every part of me, that will support me no matter what and who I can approach anything with. I only have that with one other person in the world and that’s Beth. I think Beth may even have the upper hand on knowing me better judging by the birthday and Christmas pressies I receive from her, she’s brought me shoes, dresses, belts, hair accessories, I always love them and they always fit!

 

Someone like Beth deserves the best and she’s done pretty well in her partner, Matt. He’s also been part of our lives since the beginning of uni and as a foursome we’ve grown very close, even going on various holidays together. Our nights out together work out very well, Beth and I on the dance floor while the boys watch our coats and talk sport. 

Asking Beth to be my bridesmaid was almost unnecessary because there was never any doubt she would be part of my big day, it’s totally appropriate that on the day I am making a lifetime commitment I will have my lifelong friend by my side. She’s my absolute besty ...and every time I see her I’m still struck by how pretty she is.

Smartass V Dumbass: Trends

Smartass

http://www.aarondelesie.com/

I’m seeing weddings that are becoming increasingly more about the couple and their lives and interests and that’s amazing. Whenever you are choosing suppliers you can find that, with the right research, you can choose an option that’s bespoke to you and your wishes. It’s great when you come across a wedding on a blog that allows you to learn so much about the couple, little touches that may echo back to a first date or a private joke; it brings a wedding to life. 

It’s ultimately cyclical as well. As personalisation grows so do the suppliers that can offer it. For example I absolutely adore the growing popularity of vintage wedding gowns, offering brides more style choices and recycling in the best way ever and it seems lots of others do as well because there are plenty of vintage dress suppliers available now. Etsy is a haven for bespoke handmade goodies and from Rock N Roll Bride to Love my Dress, everyone can find a blog that caters for their style. 

Events like The Alternative Wedding fair are a great showcase for all those different suppliers and attending an occasion like it shows that nothing feels beyond your reach in wedding world anymore. Modern weddings seem more about the couple than ever before and that’s nothing but smartass.

Dumbass

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joemiller/5120018634/

The dumbass to this is pretty simple and that’s judgement. Judgement comes from everywhere it seems, from blogs, other brides, family members etc. I’m sure the family member one is pretty common, if you are going for something a bit different then it’s eventual that there will be at least one person that responds with hesitation when you explain your ideas with them. I recently was telling my Dad about the chalkboard aisle runner I wanted for the ceremony, ‘People are coming to a wedding, not a freak show’ was his response. It can be difficult to have to constantly defend your choices and something you shouldn’t have to do. 

As I said the emergence of personalisation and lots of creativity is amazing but there are brides out there that want traditional weddings. They want the meringue dress and the formal pictures and the traditional tiered cake and they should be able to make this choice happily. There seems to be this thing in the media and blog world where unless you have the quirky details and funky photography that you’re not ‘cool’. I’ve seen brides worry that people will think their wedding is boring just because they haven’t DIY’d anything or have gone for simple centrepieces. If you promote the idea that people should be able to have the wedding they want this should include those traditional ones as well.

Moving away from judging individuals and towards judging trends as a whole. Back in December I wrote about the response to an article that deemed vintage to be dead and there are numerous articles I’ve seen with updates of what trends are in and what are out. My feeling towards things like the vintage trend is the reason it’s so popular is because its timeless, its classic and most people feel nostalgia towards another era, whether that’s because of fashion, film or music. I think most people choose things for their wedding because they feel a personal affinity to it, not because it’s the in thing of the moment so sometimes I feel articles promoting trends do kinda patronise people. What do they expect to happen?  ‘Oh cupcakes aren’t in anymore; right I’ll call the baker and cancel’. 

At the end of the day people should have whatever they want, without judgement, regardless of if it’s a dress of gypsy wedding proportions or a slinky little 20’s number!

Sunday catch up!

Hello everyone!

My week has been a bit of a mixture. There have been lows and highs but I’m back in the hometown this weekend so def a high! I'll sum up the lows first so we end well :D

The boy being gone all week! He's in Ireland for the week on a university trip and I have to say I missed him more than I thought I would. He couldn't use his phone either so not only have I not been able to see him but I haven't been able to talk to him either, I think that’s what bothered me most of all.

I didn't get either of the job interviews I went for last week and my current job contacted me to say they had no hours for me this week. Obviously that’s detrimental on the money front but this week it was made even harder by the fact it meant I was just in the apartment all day on my own, I got such cabin fever!

A combination of the boy being gone and having no work to get up for means my eating and sleeping patterns have been all over the place, I was totally living on my own cycle last week. Going to bed at 6am but still waking up every morning at 9 (how did that happen?!), eating dinner at 3am, I don't know how I did it but I’m exhausted now!

Although as I said it wasn't all lows. The first high was I finished my dissertation! I've still to receive some feedback from my dissertation supervisor and make a few changes in response to that but I don't have to use my brain anymore haha. The end of university is in sight!

I took full advantage of the boy not being around and did a spring clean! Here are a few of the things I revamped:

I created my photo wall! There are a few wonky pics but i'm pretty happy with what i did as one person, with the boy back i will be able to get everything sorted out better

Our bookcase had become too messy to me so i put some backing onto it, its not perfect but its a big improvement.

Our horrible bathroom unit was annoying me so much. It was messy and everything got so dusty so i tidied everything away into these wicker baskets. It makes the bathroom look bigger!

I transformed our windowsill by taking down the candles and dying plant (which the boy really loved, oops!) and put up some cute vintage items such as my teacup and saucer and my perfume bottle with some lovely pics!

I nearly killed myself going into town and totally overestimating my own strength to carry all the stuff I brought but I’m pleased with how everything has fit in. I made everything super tidy, everything is cleaned, oven, windows, everything! I also went through the drawers, wardrobes, cupboards and the dreaded under the bed to have a good rifle through and throw out. I even did the fridge and freezer! Tidy house, tidy mind and all that.

I thought as well I would share with you some of my fave little things from my home and the stories of how I got them :D

1. A gnome that sat in my nans garden for many years. When she passed away we got it for my balcony, I call it Len after my granddad!
2. When I was a child I fell in love with this mirror...while on holiday in France. I managed to persuade my parents to cart it all the way back to England for me where it stayed for many years in my bedroom. It now serves us well as a cute bathroom mirror.
3. About a year before we even thought about moving in with one another I decided to go and buy the boy a canvas of one of my favourite pics. I ordered the canvas online and when it arrived I was horrified, it was huge! It was only meant to be a small one for his wall. The canvas company admitted they had made a mistake and refunded me the money but I was left with a huge canvas that was too big for us to put anywhere so it stayed in its box for 18 months...until we moved in together and now it sits above our bed. Can make us seem a bit narcissistic though!
4. I love my fridge. It’s full of postcards, pictures, magnets, drawings; I wish we had a double doored fridge so I could add more!
5. Our breadbin (which has never actually been used for bread, it’s used to hide away biscuits from my sight) on which is perched these cute little items which were brought for us by my friend Rima.
6. Our sofa area. We dream of one day having the space for a big comfy corner sofa but until then we've made our sofa a bit more comfortable and a lot funkier with throws, pillows and my beloved union jack rug.
7. Possibly my favourite item in our whole place! I got this pendulum skull and crossbones clock at a Christmas market a few years ago, it’s so me!
8. Our giant limited edition signed John Cleese print. It has pictures and the script from the famous 'Don't mention the war' scene of Fawlty towers.
9. Our hall of fame continues with signed pictures of the 'house' team, Dick Van Dyke, Johnny Depp and Norman Wisdom. I want to make Sid James an addition to this wall very soon!

Yesterday we celebrated 2 of my friends birthdays with lunch and a night out, I didn't get pictures from either and I only really remember one, tequila is never a good idea, regardless of how yummy it is. Anyway I got them a big bag of goodies and also made them cake in a jar! I got these cute jars from a craft shop in Manchester. There are various tutorials for baking cake IN the jar but a few warnings about the glass smashing and I was too scared, I just made strawberry cupcakes, crumbled them up and layered them with Philadelphia chocolate spread. I attached a spoon with some bakers twine, they were very well received! 

Today I’m off out to Sunday dinner with the boys family (even though he is back in Manchester at the moment) and where are we having dinner? Our wedding venue! His aunt and cousins are coming along to see it so I’m rather excited, if only I could shake off the worry that I’m still actually a bit drunk....

Bye everyone :D